By Andrew Liszewski
As if having to go out in the rain doesn’t suck enough once you get back inside you have to deal with an umbrella that’s soaking wet and dripping all over the floor. (Unless you skipped the umbrella and then you only have to deal with pneumonia.)
However it looks like there’s a solution to that problem. After being in a heavy rain the NanoNuno only needs a good shake when you get back inside to be instantly clean and dry. The umbrella’s fabric is modelled after the lotus leaf which exhibits a similar behavior where moisture simply rolls off due to the microscopic rough nanostructure on the surface of the leaves. The smaller surface area means there is less area for water and dirt to stick to compared to a smooth surface. And since moisture can’t penetrate the fabric a simple shake is all that is needed to dry the umbrella off.
The NanoNuno Umbrella is currently available from Pro-Idee in black or cognac colors for ?49.95.
[NanoNuno Umbrella] VIA [Coolest Gadgets]
“The smaller surface area means there is less area for water and dirt to stick to compared to a smooth surface.”
The less smooth a surface is, the greater the surface area will be. Not quite what’s written above.
I agree with anonymous. Someone must have gotten the info rayally reversed.
It’s likely referring to the surface tension of the water being such that it doesn’t get into the nano-scale crevices. There is more surface area if you’re tracing the molecular profile, but as far as the parts the water can reach and stick to (apparently) there is less. Just a guess